Houston-area Congressman Al Green presses jobs for vets

The more than 50,000 veterans and spouses hired by businesses over the past year is just a down payment on help envisioned by a White House campaign to help veterans’ families, says Houston-area Congressman Al Green.

The Democratic lawmaker joined first lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, the spouse of Vice President Joe Biden, at a White House event marking the first anniversary of the so-called “Joining Forces Initiative.”

The program is designed to link veterans and their families with local employers to help them find work. Green said enterprises across the country have pledged to hire 160,000 additional veterans or their spouses over coming years.

“Our military families deserve stable jobs and a decent standard of living,” said Green, an advocate for homeless veterans who has been pressing legislation to create a homeless veterans’ liaison in the upper ranks of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Helping veterans track down jobs is “the least a grateful nation can do to honor its heroes,” Green said. “One of the most successful aspects of this initiative is the fact it establishes solid connections between the business community and the armed forces.”

Green said he plans to host an event in Houston to highlight the program.

Mrs. Obama’s campaign also includes a drive to ensure that nursing organizations and nursing schools train nurses to recognize and care for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injuries. Green said.

“Sadly, a significant number of the troops returning from deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan have brain injuries or suffer from PTSD,” Congressman Green said. “Making sure that our health professionals are well-trained to treat these conditions is paramount in our effort to care for our heroes.”